As none other I know how problematic it is to discuss matters related to politics on the web. However, every now and then, there's no way around it, and this is one of those moments. There's this thing going on at airports in the US, and while many will see it as a separate issue, the body scanner issue, and the sad stories it has spawned, are symptoms of a far larger problem that is a direct threat to everything we've fought for during and since the Enlightenment.

Yeah, and if you or someone you loved are killed the next time a plane gets flown into a building (or worse), I guess that's just too damn bad.

You're missing the bigger picture. The chances of getting killed in a terrorist attack are miniscule. Heck, I live in Manila and the chances of me dying in a terrorist attack are still miniscule. I don't even worry about it even though I've been close to one or two attacks.
The problem with these scanners are that they have not been proven to work but still huge amunts of the taxpayers money are spent on them, money that could have been better used, and people are being violated.
I'm not so sure what the big ruckus is about the pat-down though. Some guy touches my groin because he's doing his job? Meh, big deal.